The EU now has an opportunity to introduce rules which will favour less harmful production methods, not only for steel and cement but for energy-intensive industries in general, which include chemicals, plastics and aluminium production, among others.Our paper analyses the relationship between key regulatory requirements and supporting standards, and outlines how they can better contribute […]

The Dieselgate case revealed how Volkswagen forged test results for the emissions levels of their cars. Unfortunately, the Volkswagen case is not an isolated one. Bending the rules, so-called “circumvention”, is an important problem when applying to real life EU rules such as the ecodesign and energy labelling legislation. The latest workshop organised on circumvention […]

A new series of eight standards recently published by CEN-CENELEC will allow manufacturers to compare circular features in products across different brands. They include several common definitions and calculation methods for aspects such as repairability, reusability and durability for “energy-related products”, a concept that includes a wide range of home appliances and ICT devices. The […]

The European Commission is preparing the new Working Plan for the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Framework, which has the potential to shape sustainable home appliances, professional equipment and electronic devices across the EU market. We believe that, in this key document, the EU should expand the catalogue of products covered, adding appliances such as humidifiers, […]

ECOS submitted a favourable opinion on the final draft standard IEC 62680-1-3 specifying the USB-C 4.0 cable and connector. The standard comprises specifications for USB Type-C receptacles, plugs and cables. It is expected to help counter the multiplication of different charging solutions, improve consumer convenience, and limit wasteful overconsumption.  While generally supportive of this standard, […]

 Tyres are the main contributor to the unintentional release of microplastics into the environment, leading to 250,000 to 500,000 tonnes of microplastics pollution every year in the EU alone. Most of these microplastics are released as the vehicles run, due to tyre abrasion. To reduce this impact, a new EU tyre label regulation will require […]

CEN-CENELEC is currently reviewing the draft version of the European Commission’s standardisation request for a set of new harmonised standards for electronic displays. To that end, the standardisers created an ad-hoc group, in which ECOS is taking active part. We submitted detailed comments on the first draft version of this set of standards, aiming to […]

Plastics represent more than 90% of the litter collected on European beaches. More than half are single-use plastic items, such as plastic bottles, cups, lids, straws, stirrers and shopping bags. This waste is a serious threat to marine ecosystems, biodiversity and human health, and to activities such as tourism, fisheries and shipping. In Europe, the […]

The Construction Products Regulation (CPR) is supposed to support a fully functioning Single Market for construction products and help address sustainability issues, but it is currently failing to deliver effectively on both objectives. Now the European Commission has an opportunity to change the course of this regulation. DG GROW officials have put a few promising […]